Looking Back

As the holidays, the semester, and this project come to a close I have spent much time reflecting on what has happened over the past days, weeks, and months. I have found that I have learned very much in general, and an especially great amount about polygamy.

When I began this project in September, I never thought that I would be spending my coming months researching a topic like polygamy. Polygamy was a topic so foreign, weird, and taboo that it hardly ever even crossed my mind and initially I was a little apprehensive to commit to studying its ins and outs for a grade, however; I am very happy that I did.

In this portion of the project I chose to look at the change in the way that society views polygamy and found some very interesting results. I think the most interesting of them all revolving around the popular television series "Big Love." In my research, I found that the series "Big Love," which focuses on a polygamous family, was significantly more popular in regions of the United States that were Liberal rather than those that were conservative. I think the drastic difference in viewer ratings across the country shows the great diversity of opinion when it comes to this topic.This polarity of opinion in the tv series ratings, mirrors the majority of information I found while researching.

Overall, I have found that polygamy is, in fact, a foreign, weird, and taboo subject to most people, but I have also found that I have come to an understanding of those who choose to partake in its lifestyle, and for that I am both surprised and grateful.

Research Update

Thankfully, over the past week I have had more time to do the research for my polygamy project. I have found a lot of boring facts about how the concept of polygamy began and several legal documents detailing its illegality in the US. I have also begun to notice that the mormon people, those who practice polygamy the most openly and therefore are the basis of my research on polygamy in the US, are very stubborn and rebellious people. I have realized that whenever there is a law passed about banning polygamy, the mormon polygamists counter it with by passing a law within there own church supporting the act. It is almost as though the group is intentionally trying to rebel against the US rather than simply supporting their religion. I plan to look deeper into this aspect and see if I can compare the laws passed by the US government to those passed by the Mormon church.

Research Update

Over the past week and a half, I have not had a particular abundance of time to research polygamy through the past century. I have done some general research about the topic and have found that societies view of polygamy has, in fact, change through the years but does not seem to have changed as much as I expected. Although people have become more accustomed to polygamy and society in general has become more open about controversial topics (sexual orientation, domestic violence etc.), I have found that there is not that much dialogue on the topic of polygamy in the regular social scene. I have found some court cases concerning polygamous families (generally in Utah and Colorado) and I also think I might try to watch some episodes of the TV series Big Love.  I plan to look for more court cases from other states and regions of the country and will them compare them and sort them chronologically. I think that I am off to a good start and look forward to where my research will take me in the upcoming week!

Research Strategy

For my Secondary Analysis of polygamy, I will utilize a range of resources to document the change in societies opinion and acceptance of polygamy in the United States. I will limit my search on this change to the information that has been gathered since 1912 (a century). I will begin my secondary analysis by using websites to see exactly when this change occurred and will hopefully gather a list of set dates or years in which thinking on polygamy changed. I expect these dates to center upon important supreme court cases regarding polygamy, protests in the United States, and public figures speaking out on the topic. From there, I will use these dates to get more in depth information from New York times, the Washington Post, and USA Today regarding the public's opinion on these specific times. I will look for supplemental information in the supreme court online records and other reliable websites or historical records. I hope that this method of gathering research will help me to find how exactly the country has grown to accept or reject polygamy over time.

Research Method

Because the topic of polygamy cannot be directly observed in society, I think the best method for me to conduct my research is to utilize Secondary Analysis.  I plan to track the change (if there is one) in America's opinion on polygamy.  I will look at how public the topic of polygamy has become in the media and how the punishments for polygamous beliefs have varied throughout the years.  I will use court cases, articles, television shows, previously conducted surveys, and news reports, to track this change.  I hope that my research will provide a clear answer as to how society as a whole feels about the topic of polygamy.

New Understanding

This is it. My last post for this quarter and the conclusion of the first half of my quest to understanding polygamy.

Since I first started this blog, what seems like a lifetime but was only 8 short weeks ago, I have come to a better understanding of polygamy.  I still do not think I would ever consider the lifestyle to be one I would participate in, but I now can accept and see the reasons why others believe it is a good thing to do.  Through this portion of the project, I have been able to shed a little bit of my ethnocentric view of the topic of polygamy and have become significantly more culturally relativistic when it comes to the topic.

I've also really enjoyed reading all of the
polygamy related online comics! 

Through my research, articles, and videos, I have been able to get a better sense of the wide range of people who participate in, condone, or shun the practice and I have gotten the opportunity to see why these people believe what they do.

Going into this project, I truly believed that it was only those of the Mormon faith and maybe some small cult-like tribes who participated in polygamy, but now I have realized that it is not the the Mormons who are polygamists but that there are several other societies and groups that also subscribe to the polygamist belief.

I think that so far, this project has proven to be very interesting and has lead me to understand a subculture that I may have gotten the opportunity to learn about otherwise.  I am very happy with the places my research has taken me thus far and can't wait to see where it takes me next!

Polygamous Penalties

In class, we have been talking about sanctions and the way people are treated when they violate rules, whether they are social norms or even laws.  This concept got me thinking what the punishments in the United States are for people caught practicing polygamy.  As it turns out this topic, like most regarding polygamy, is quite controversial.  I was very surprised by the plethora of articles, blogs, and comments that resulted from my search of  "polygamy punishments." This one from usatoday.com, highlights the hypocrisy in the laws that have been passed in the US regarding polygamy.

Apparently, there is no nationwide law (or punishment) for polygamy, but rather it is up to the states to decide what to do with their polygamous residents.  I find this to be a poor decision on the part of law makers, simply because by passing the buck of polygamy punishment to the states they are creating disunity in the country.  Some states, like Utah, have very lenient rules on polygamy and basically allow the practice as long as it does not cause issues, while other states, like New York, will send polygamous residents to jail for up to ten years.  Some states think that polygamy is okay because of its religious connections and simply view it as an "alternative lifestyle" while others could not imagine condoning such a practice.

I feel that this drastic difference in punishment is not fair for citizens who believe in either polygamy or monogamy.  Since there is no set government standard for the punishment or tolerance of polygamy, how are the nation's people supposed to know how to react to the topic?

So what do you think? Should the US have a uniform punishment for polygamy? Should it be strict?